Tag: Books

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke & the Bookish and it’s a feature that everyone participates in so I’m going to try and participate myself and see how long it lasts. Wish me luck.

This week’s prompt is:

September 26: Ten Books That Feature Characters ____________: Examples: Ten books that feature black main characters, characters who hold interesting jobs, characters who have a mental illness, characters that are adopted, characters that play sports, etc, etc. Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

I love sports romances. I adore athletes and reading about them falling in love so this week, I’ll be featuring characters that play sports (and recommending the books) so here’s my top ten list of books featuring characters that play sports.

Stealing Parker (Hundred Oaks #2) by Miranda Kenneally (Softball): Stealing Parker is about Parker, a softball player that had a rough time of it when her mother left her father and their family after coming out as a lesbian. Parker’s journey throughout this book was a good one. One that made me laugh, hurt and happy sigh all over the place. Such a good book.

Stay (WAGS #2) by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy (Hockey): Matt Erikkson is all that and a bag of chips. I loved seeing him fall for his heroine and just be an upstanding father to his two girls. His romance with Hailey was fun and it was a grown folks romance that I completely adored. He was a professional hockey player that lived a crazy life but I loved seeing him with his kids, seeing him with Hailey and when he finally stands up for himself with his ex? Freaking loved it.

Jockblocked (Gridiron #2) by Jen Frederick (Football): I come from a family of diabetics so I have first hand knowledge on how crazy life can be for a diabetic with so many things to keep track of so seeing a hero who was mindful of his heroine’s glucose numbers melted my heart. I will forever remember Matty Iverson because he was an awesome football player but who was also a fantastic boyfriend.

The Score (Off Campus #3) by Elle Kennedy (Hockey): Dean DiLaurentis is a hockey player who loved to play the field. When we first meet him, he is a complete horndog who doesn’t need a bit of privacy for his bedroom shenanigans. It was kind of off-putting and I had the same issues with him that his heroine had. I didn’t think he could be tamed but seeing him fall head over heels in love with one girl was one hell of a ride and I thought Elle Kennedy did a fabulous job of telling his story.

Rules of Contact (Play by Play #12) by Jaci Burton (Football): I haven’t read every book in the Play by Play series but the ones that I have read, I have enjoyed. Flynn Cassidy is a football player who falls in with the head chef at his restaurant. His book was fun and the chemistry between him and Amelia was off the charts and I just totally loved him.

I Wish You Were Mine (Oxford #2) by Lauren Layne (Football): This book follows a retired football player who is stepping into the next phase of his life, as a fitness writer for a popular Men’s magazine. Jackson’s struggles with his new career and the career that ended before he was ready to move on from it made for some great reading. Lauren Layne writes great contemporary romances and this one was no exception. I loved Jackson and I loved his book. So good.

The Friend Zone (Game On #2) by Kristen Callihan (Football): Gray Grayson. He played football and gave up his truck to his friend who needed it and started driving a tiny pink car around because that was the only available car to him. He was one of a kind, that Gray Grayson. He was a great friend, a stand up guy and a genius to boot. His dirty mouth won me over and I love, love, loved the hell out of him and his story.

Pipe Dreams (Brooklyn Bruisers #3) by Sarina Bowen (Hockey): Mike Beacon’s story was one that snuck up on me. I wasn’t a really big fan of his heroine in the previous books but like always, Sarina Bowen was right there with this book, telling me all the reasons I shouldn’t have underestimated Lauren. I loved Mike and I loved Lauren and their story is one well worth the time it’ll take you to read it.

The Year We Hid Away (The Ivy Years #2) by Sarina Bowen (Hockey): This book made me laugh, it made me sigh and it made me ugly cry before making me happy sigh again. This book pulls out all of the feels and it will definitely make you sit up and take notice of how well Sarina Bowen writes. She’s really good at what she does and this is the book that earned her a spot on my permanent auto-buy list.

Rock Hard (Rock Kiss #2) by Nalini Singh (Rugby): Gabriel Bishop is an ex-rugby player that is now working in the corporate world and falling for his mousy assistant who comes a little more out of her shell with each passing day. The chemistry between these two was off the charts and their romance was hella sexy. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the spin off series that is supposed to be forthcoming. This was a great contemporary romance and I highly recommend it.

I have adored every single one of these books and these are the books that feature athletes that I think everyone should read. Happy reading!

Are there any books featuring athletes that you love, that I missed? Share your favorites with me in the comments!

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What a week it’s been. This weekend, I spent most of it in Ventura watching Brenna and Kenna play in their first college tournament and it was so much fun watching them in action. They’re back to loving the game and you can see how much fun they’re having and I’m glad. They both had disappointing high school senior seasons and seeing the trash talking, the one upping of each other and just the fun they’re so clearly having, it’s a good thing to see. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them having fun on the court like that.

Chase’s football game was another fun outing for the family. Chase didn’t get in at all (he’s mostly JV but is available to play on varsity if he’s needed) but we still had a good night and North won so all in all, it was a good game.

What I’m Currently Reading

Cocktail waitress Sophie Dalton doesn’t exactly have a life plan. She’s perfectly happy being everyone’s favorite party girl. But when a Las Vegas bachelorette party goes awry and an uptight businessman mistakes Sophie for a prostitute . . . well, Sophie wonders if it’s time to reevaluate her priorities. Swearing off her thigh-high boots for good, Sophie slinks back home with damaged pride-and a jackpot of a hangover.

Yet what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there. On a trip to Seattle to open a new office, Grayson Wyatt meets his latest employee-who turns out to be the same woman he recently called a hooker. Wealthy and gorgeous, Gray is a man used to getting what he wants. And it doesn’t take long to figure out that smart, sassy, sexy Sophie is everything he’s been looking for. As their late nights at the office turn into hot morning-afters, they realize their Vegas misunderstanding may lead to the real thing . . .

I have been reading a whole lot of Julie Garwood in the last week or so. I blame that on my friends Grace and Holly. They have been in my text messages, talking JG non stop and I just couldn’t help myself but this week, I’m determined to get back to my reading list and right now, I’m reading Only with You by Lauren Layne. There aren’t very many books left from Layne’s back list that I haven’t tried but I have every faith that I’ll enjoy these books. I really do love her stuff.

My favorite reads of the week go to Saving Grace, The Prize and The Wedding. I loved all of them so freaking much. It’s nice to see old comfort reads still holding their charm for me as I’m a completely different reader now than I was when I first read these books. Julie Garwood’s older books just do it for me. Ransom was another great read but it wasn’t my favorite this time around. I was much too bummed about Ramsey being robbed of his own full length book.

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It’s amazing how relaxing my weeks have gotten with my kid not playing high school sports. Sure, she’s playing basketball at the community college but her schedule is nowhere near as hectic as her high school schedule was.

I spent the week catching up on the shows that I neglected because of Game of Thrones. I caught up on Shooter, Suits, and The Last Ship. I also watched a bunch of movies, too.

What I’m Currently Reading

Captain Maximus Harcourt, the unconventional tenth Duke of Alderidge, can deal with tropical storms, raging seas, and the fiercest of pirates. But he’s returned home from his latest voyage to find a naked earl—quite inconveniently deceased—tied to his missing sister’s bed. And he has only one place to turn. Now he’s at the mercy of the captivating Miss Ivory Moore of Chegarre & Associates, known throughout London for smoothing over the most dire of scandals.

Miss Moore treats the crisis as though it were no more serious than a cup of spilt tea on an expensive rug. As though this sort of thing happened on the job every day. Max has never in all his life met a woman with such nerve. Her dark eyes are too wide, her mouth is too full, her cheekbones too sharp. Yet together, she’s somehow…flawless. It’s just like his love for her, imperfect, unexpected—yet absolutely true.

Every time that I went to pick this book up on my kindle, I ended up opening another book and re-reading that book instead of reading this one so I never started this one. For realsy this time, I’m starting this book tonight.

I’m in the mood for a good office romance, anyone know of anything that I try after I finish this book?

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About Me

My name is Rowena and I live in L.A. and am still waiting for my Prince Charming to come and find me. My best friend keeps singing, "Someday our Prince will come..." so Prince Charming, if you're looking for me, pass Crenshaw Blvd, don't turn left!

Welcome.

This is my personal blog so you'll find a lot of personal stories, things that made me laugh, cry and everything else in between. I'll talk books, review movies and talk about the TV shows that I'm watching.

Disclaimer

I'm offered (and accept) review copies of books from authors, publishers, publicists and other third party distributors. For arguments sake, you may assume all books reviewed on this site were sent for review by one of the above mentioned (though the truth is probably somewhere closer to 70%).

That I accept books from outside parties has no bearing on the outcome of the reviews. I am, and always will be, completely honest in my opinions - whether positive or negative.

The movies that are reviewed on this blog are movies that I've paid to see in theaters, rented myself or streamed on Netflix with a subscription I pay for.